This last week has seen a major government initiative to solve the riddle of paying for our elderly relatives to be cared for in nursing homes. The issue of who pays for the care of the elderly has become increasingly important to many people as they discover that therir elderly relatives are living longer and most long-term residents of care homes end up selling their houses in order to pay for their care.

I have talked to several residents in Tilehurst for whom this is a major concern. They see poeple working all their lives, saving money, buying a house, retiring and then having to give up all their posessions (including their homes) to pay for care in retirement. The state requires that any wealth over £23,500 must be used to pay for care services when full-time care is required. People with no wealth do not have to worry as the state pays for their care from day one. It is this issue of elderly folk who have saved for retirement and who own their homes having to give everything up rather than pass something on to their children that is so unfair. For many people who have to deal with elderly parents and nursing homes there is huge resentment at having to hand over all the savings over £23,500 whilst others who have not saved receive the same care for free.

Two years ago the government commissioned a report on paying for the care of the elderly and the Dilnot report was duly issued last year. After some dithering they have now agreed to act on the main recommendations. These are that the limit on how much retained wealth you are allowed if you need to go into a nursing home will be raised to £100,000 and that their will be a cap of £35,000 on contributions. Essentially people can reatin more of their life’s savings than at present, so more can be left to relatives. Also if their is a cap of £35,000 for any individual’s contribution to his/her own care, then future generations will be able to take out insurance to cover this relatively modest amount.

At the cost of a couple of £billion a year these reforms will save a lot of older folk from having to sell their houses in order tp pay for care when others, who do not own their own home pay nothing for the same care.

As more and more of us live longer and longer and more of us require care at the end of our lives, the issue of who pays for that care is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. I think most people will see this move as a fairer way to fund care for the elderly.